Nearly 210,000 fill flight line for two-day air show

  • Published
  • By MSgt. Andrew Biscoe
  • 439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --  "Loved the dirty flaps and gear," said Capt. Caitlin Sweeney, as she stood on the flight line and watched Lt. Col. Matthew Llodra guide the C-5 through low clouds after weather forced a 90-minute delay in the kickoff of the Great New England Air Show.

Thousands of people watched the C-5 - its engine whine cutting through the humid air - as it lumbered through the clouds in an instrument-only approach, to officially begin the flying demonstrations Aug. 4.

Nearly 210,000 people thronged Westover's vast flight line Aug. 4-5 for the air show's salute to the World War II generation.

More than 60 military and civilian aircraft converged on the flight line through the weekend.

Momentum began to build when aircraft from bases nationwide began arriving Aug. 2. A kickoff breakfast was held Aug. 3 in the fuel cell hangar. Performers took the air for a practice air show in the morning.

MSgt. Christopher Davis, with the Base Honor Guard, stood at attention for more than two hours in full dress blues at the breakfast. Muggy, stagnant air trapped the heat inside the hangar, he said, but the chance to render a sharp salute to a World War II veteran overtook everything else that morning.

"I felt so proud to be part of Westover's tribute to these brave veterans," MSgt. Davis said. "I was honored to salute these people, and to look them right in the eye as a service member myself."

Military and civilian organizers devoted months of planning to ensure the air show met its tribute objective - "A Salute To the Greatest Generation." Vintage and modern aircraft provided those nods from the air, while on the ground, World War II reenactors dressed out in wool regalia, and braved the 90-degree temperatures to bring nostalgia to the flight line.

MSgt. Scott Taylor, 337th Airlift t Squadron, stood on a stage near show center and held an American flag. The opening ceremony included a moment of silence for the men and women who first occupied Westover's hangars and runways more than 70 years ago. MSgt. Taylor held the flag with Capt. Martin Ochtabec, 337th AS, while TSgt. Blaire Sieber sang the National Anthem during opening ceremonies Aug. 5.

"That was an important moment for all of us," MSgt. Taylor said.

The air show brought in fly-bys of such modern aircraft as the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, and took spectators back in time to D-Day with a C-47 Skytrain - complete with markings from the renowned 1944 Allied invasion at Normandy.

Performers eventually took to blue skies. Thousands of people lined a fence along the flight line to watch demonstrations from performers such as the Army's Black Daggers parachute team, a Marine Corps vertical landing and takeoff-capable MV-22 Osprey and world-champion acrobatic pilots Rob Holland and Michael Goulian.

In addition to the f lying, visitors browsed numerous static military aircraft, including a rarely-seen B-1B strategic bomber, and saw vehicle displays from all branches of the U.S. military. NASA even placed a first-ever interactive display, complete with a moon rock and a "Picture Yourself in Space" photo booth.